MARION COUNTY - School leaders across North Central Florida are scrambling to respond to the school district report cards that showed most districts dropping a letter grade.

According to the Florida Department of Education, Alachua County dropped from an "A" to a "B" and Marion County dropped from a "B" to a "C".

School district officials in Marion County say the grade drop does not mean the quality of education has gone down.

"I always caution parents to not judge that school based on a school grade alone," Marion County School District Spokesperson Kevin Christian told TV20. "There's so much more that factors into that, especially now that makes the formula so complicated."

The grade changes were based on elementary and middle school students.

Christian says that the F-CAT tests were harder this year and the grading scale went up.

He also said that test scores from students with special needs and non- English speakers were factored in for the first time.